Saturday, November 26, 2011

The one hallmark of Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore is this. It is the relentless pursuit of their critics by every means possible, both legal and otherwise to ensure that they or their views simply will not see the light of day. This has been so ever since Lee Kuan Yew's PAP came to power in 1959.

JB Jeyaretnam, his erstwhile bete noir, was harassed intimidated punished and pursued to his death with repeated defamation actions, the abuse of the law courts and bankruptcy, thwarting his law practice and denying him a livelihood till the very end, till death.

Today we have Chee Soon Juan also repeatedly sued, bankrupted and jailed not because he is any criminal, but only because his political views are in variance with that of the Lee family who run the country.

And this disgraceful history of Lee's PAP regime in the island has countless other cases of JB Jeyaretnams and Chee Soon Juan's all destroyed just because they were not prepared to tow the line.

In my own case, I had been deported from Singapore following my arrest and imprisonment for criticizing Singapore Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean for her misuse of the law in 2008 in the Lee Kuan Yew vs Chee Soon Juan defamation case. Consequent on my deportation, I will be refused entry to Singapore without a visa, and it is unlikely they would ever grant me one if I applied. In other words I am banished from Lee Kuan Yew's island. By the way I am no criminal if that is what you think. I simply don't agree with Lee Kuan Yew on how he runs the island.

Just like me, there are many Singaporeans or former Singaporeans living in exile overseas and denied the right to enter the country of their birth, all because Lee Kuan Yew is unhappy with them.

It is one thing to act in such a vindictive and revengeful manner against his opponents, but has he ever considered the harm he is doing Singapore by such petty mindedness or rather childishness?

Consider the case of Chee Soon Juan, presently living in Singapore and the target of the relentless punishment he receives at the hands of the Lee government only because he is a political opponent. From his writings and his actions, he is undoubtedly a vary able person, and Singapore would benefit tremendously if he is allowed to participate in local politics in the island. Yet, the Lee regime ensures that nothing he says ever sees the light of day in the state controlled press, nothing he says is ever publicised or allowed any publicity and for all intents and purposes, his wisdom and intellect is lost for Singapore.

When Jeyaretnam was around (he died in 2008), he suffered a similar fate. Everything he said was blacked out, and it was as if, anything you heard of him , if you ever did was just bad news. It did not matter what anyone thought of him, as far as Lee was concerned Jeyaretnam was a thief and that was that.

As for me, I have been in Lee Kuan Yew's state controlled press several times in the past, but they were all to paint me as the most evil person that ever walked the terrain in Singapore. Never mind what anyone thought of me, as far as they were concerned I was all bad.

In fact the Lee Kuan Yew doctrine is simply this. You first target your opponents, such as JB Jeyaretnam, Chee Soon Juan and Gopalan Nair. Once that is done, use every possible means, both fair and foul to tarnish their image, and deny them every single opportunity, place every hurdle possible to obstruct and prejudice them so that they will not be able to live in any meaningful manner possible.

Lee's hope of course is that his opponents, suffering under this unbearable persecution, repression and suffering, would at some point or other give up their beliefs, apologize and prostrate before him and promise never to criticize him. Once this is done, to use the government's own words during my trial for contempt of court, the subject is "purged" of his offenses, he is then successfully rehabilitated (as if we were criminals) and would then be treated leniently once again. But as long as the subject remains defiant and refuses to submit, the punishment goes on unabated permanently.

So according to this Lee Kuan Yew doctrine, it would appear, all Chee Soon Juan has to do now is to simply apologize to Lee Kuan Yew, give an undertaking never to criticize him again and even better still, state his willingness to serve his Peoples Action Party. Although such a scenario is as impossible as the Sun rising in the West, knowing Chee Soon Juan, if indeed he is willing to do this, I bet on it, his fortunes would change overnight. He would be given his professorship at Singapore University back, which Lee had taken away, he would very likely get all the money he paid so far in fines and court damages and perhaps even made the Singapore Ambassador to London at one stroke.

In my case I am not sure if any such thing will happen had I apologized but perhaps I would be allowed to travel to Singapore again at least.

But these are the totally unacceptable harebrained terms that he has for his critics, which is either kowtow or else. But the problem is, most of us who have had the willingness and the courage to stand against this man have done so because we truly believe in what we have done. As for me, I truly believe that fighting this dictatorship in Singapore is an honorable cause which I shall continue doing no matter what. And I am sure it is the same with Chee Soon Juan and everyone else who have suffered under the repression of the Lee Kuan Yew government, for having stood up to him.

I am sure by now that Lee Kuan Yew is himself aware that Chee soon Juan is going to be a thorn on his side permanently and no amount of punishment is going to make him budge. And I will continue criticizing him or doing anything else in my capacity regardless of whether or not he allows me into the country.

In these circumstances, with the impossible stalemate as it is, if Lee Kuan Yew is going to use his brains, it would make more sense for him to stop this relentless pointless vindictiveness against his political critics and instead try some appeasement instead. Being stubborn the way he is, is not only silly, it is seriously damaging Singapore.

Remember Chee Soon Juan, Gopalan Nair and countless others who are being persecuted or in exile can contribute to the betterment of Singapore, even though it may not be to the betterment of the Lee Kuan Yew family. Every one of us wish Singapore well although we also want to see the back of the dictatorship.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Friday, November 25, 2011

What is it that keeps Singapore going today? What comes to mind are a few things, one Casinos, 3 of them recently constructed to attract gamblers from all over the world to Singapore and making money off them. In other words living off vice.

Second you have tourism, just like every where else has it too, nothing particularly noteworthy in Singapore's case.

Third you have money laundering, from Burmese drug lords to Indonesian bank embezzlers, including the notorious Robert Mugabe family of Zimbabwe who stack their ill gotten gains there from which Singapore makes money. Again in essence vice.

Fourth you have land sales to these rich crooks from around the world at astronomical prices in land scarce Singapore. Unfortunately for Singapore, there is only that much land and this source too is fast dying out.

Fifth, you have legalized prostitution in a suburb called Geylang, set aside for this purpose, which is so specialized that it in fact has segregated sections for women from a particular part of the world, for instance 3 roads reserved for Chinese prostitutes, another 3 for Burmese and for Indian and Filipino and so on. Recently a particular area has been allotted for Central Asian women who being Caucasian looking are attracting very brisk business. A sizable number of tourists come to Singapore especially to engage in prostitution who are given work visas for the purpose while sex tourism is on the rise from which Singapore continues to profit. Prostitutes are given visas under the euphemism of social workers. They are required to have medical check up regularly for sexually transmitted deceases and if they default, their visas are revoked. Living off immoral earnings is what it is.

Sixth you have some manufacturing of weapons including the dreaded cluster bombs which Singapore coninues to sell to regimes and juntas despite world condemnation, regardless of their cause including militants and guerrillas in Africa as well as to pariah governments such as Zimbabwe and Burma, countries that repress, suppress and torture their own people and deny their rights. For Singapore it appears, all that matters is money, never mind how you make it.

In order to prevent anyone from questioning these disgraceful practices Singapore denies press freedom, controlling and owning the entire press and media, arresting and imprisoning anyone who criticizes them by denying their constitutional rights of free speech and jailing anyone who protests against these injustices.

Unfortunately for this Singapore dictatorship, this sort of repression is backfiring. With Singapore's increasingly educated population, they are increasingly showing their displeasure to these blatant acts of repression and suppression. Increasing numbers of educated Singaporeans continue to leave their shores for settlement abroad instead of accepting this nonsense while Singapore's reliance on dirty money for survival becomes more and more a a cause of embarrassment than anything else.

What is worse the routine abuse of the law to stifle dissent, where government compliant judges are used to bend the law to punish known critics such as the well known opposition politician and martyr Dr. Chee Soon Juan is beginning to adversely affect even Singapore's money laundering business, as the fear is that if the government can abuse the law to punish government critics, what guarantee is there that they will not similarly abuse the law to deny the rights of money launderers?

The lack of the rule of law has seriously affected Singapore's attempt to be an international arbitration center as Hong Kong and Australia in the region continue to grow as Singapore's continues to shrink.

Today there is no one who could criticize the Singapore government and expose their true colours from within Singapore as I do here, as they would be immediately arrested, tortured and deprived of a livelihood the very instant. Which is why the only way that one can speak his mind about Singapore is from the outside, not from within Singapore.

As if all this is not bad enough, Chinese immigrants from Mainland China are bought into Singapore and given instant citizenship to replace the educated and English speaking Singaporeans who are leaving en masse for settlement abroad. These mostly unskilled Chinese immigrants are reducing productivity and competitiveness further damaging the economy, which explains why you would be probably served won ton mee if you ordered Chicken rice at Singapore's Changi Airport. The recently arrived Chinese waitress has no clue what you are talking about. Furthermore the reproductive rate is the lowest in the world while local Singaporeans either die off or leave the country to be replaced by these unskilled and non English proficient Mainland Chinese immigrants.

And with this blog as well as several other blogs from around the world, like vultures, we wait to see how long more for Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore.

For decades now, both father and son, Lee Kuan Yew and son, who are the Singapore government have gone around the capitals of the world like Melbourne and Sydney begging the Singapore diaspora, hat in hand, to return, but should anyone be suprised that so far no one is preapred to take the bait?

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Would you trust your life with flying Singapore Airlines. I would not. It is not just the number of major crashes with heavy fatalities, it is also the nature of these crashes which is worrying.

On Oct 31, 2000 a Singapore Airlines 747 crashed on to construction equipment on attempting a take off at Taipei Airport bound for Los Angeles. The tower had cleared it for takeoff at Runway 05 Left, but the captain mistakenly entered into 05 right, thinking it was 05 left and despite every condition indicating that he should exercise extreme caution, simply took off without checking. The errors were far too many and serious making this crash not just a simple mistake of judgement, it borders almost on recklessness.

First the charts clearly showed there were 2 runways parallel to each other 05 left and 05 right. If he was not sure where he was, how could he just endanger the lives of his passengers and crew without making sure where he was.

Second there was heavy rain in Typhoon conditions and visibility was minimal. Since he could not really see, should he not have exercised even greater caution to make sure where he was. Or even better aborted the take off entirely for inclement weather, as a safe pilot would have done?

The wrong runway into which he turned 05right, had green lights in the center line with no lights on the sides clearly indicating that it is not a runaway but only taxiway. Why did he not see this.

The aircraft cockpit display would have had a Para visual Display which would have shown that he was not lined up with his allotted runway. He did not check this.

Runway lights have white light in the center line and on the sides. Not seeing this he should have known that he was not on it.

This Singapore Airline pilot simply decided to take off anyway, not caring where he was putting the lives of his passengers at risk, which resulted in heavy casualties and serious injury.

Some years later, Silk Air, the sister airline to Singapore had an even more shocking accident. The pilot of a Boeing 737 deliberately pitched his nose down, pointing to the terrain below and deliberately crashed the aircraft killing all aboard. He has committed suicide.

And only last month, a Singapore Airlines from Manchester veered off the runway into the grass while landing in Munich even though all indications were that the weather was fine, it wasn't a Cross wind landing and there were no other difficulties whatsoever, which leads us to believe in this case the pilot was simply incompetent.

And why I would ask any reader of this blog to be wary about ever flying Singapore airlines is this. It is not really the number of accidents but more importantly the type of accidents which is worrying in this case. Unlike in other cases where the accident is caused by the aircraft malfunctioning, with Singapore Airlines it is either pilot recklessness, pilot committing suicide or pure incompetence.

In the Taipei crash the pilot almost showed complete reckless disregard in pouring rain and took off at the wrong runway. In the Silkair case, the suicide pilot did not care that he is killing dozens of his passengers in his suicide act. And in the Munich case recently, which trained pilot in the world would be expected to veer off a runway in perfectly good weather with a perfect headwind, or in other words ideal conditions, unless he is a mental case.

No no. If I were you I would not fly Singapore Airlines. Quantas is a much better bet which uses normal trained pilots who do not go around committing suicide, or take off from the wrong runway or decide to use the grass as a runway at Munich.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

It is interesting to note that in 1851, at the height of the British Empire across the world, Britain's population was only 20 million, in 1901 it had 40 million and in 1951 at the beginning of it's sunset, it had a mere 50 million. And yet with this comparatively tiny population, it had managed to rule India with hundreds of millions and across the world with several more hundreds of millions, a feat unimaginable.

The question is how did they do it. To assume that they managed not only to conquer but to hold these huge swathes of the globe for centuries by brute force alone is to completely miss the point. The Moors did not manage to subjugate and rule Andalusia and Spain for 400 years merely by brute force and neither did the Ottoman Turks rule the then known world from 1452 to the end of the First War by force alone either.

On the other hand we have seen the Tartars and Mongols capture and plunder distant lands but they unlike the British or the Ottomans nor the Moors never lasted. In a flash they came and in a flash they also went.

What then makes such empires as that of the British last centuries and others not. The answer has to be that power and strength alone never managed to sustain empires. What sustained them was the respect they managed to attract from their subjects, the justice and the just and fair administration of their territories which made their subjects not only respect them but willingly serve under them.

Just speak to any older person who had been living in Singapore during British colonial rule and they will tell you that they had the rule of law. The British made sure that the law was not only just but was also seen to be just. Criminal trials had juries who decided guilt or innocence, not some judge who is beholden to the Lee Kuan Yew family as we have today.

The press was independent and free and a citizen could expect to read real news, not the propaganda which is churned out today by the state controlled press.

Workers under British rule had rights, and were protected by real independent unions. A worker then could not be dismissed just like that as he can be today under Lee Kuan Yew's rule. One had security of employment, unemployment social security for those without work and a school system where every child was given an equal opportunity.

Today with independence under the Lee Kuan Yew family, Singaporeans do not enjoy any of this. True, you have better roads, and modern buildings but what good is it to have these things without the rule of law, and independent press and a free and fair administration.

I have no hesitation to say that Singapore was a far better place to live under British administration than it is today under the Lee Kuan Yew family. The British all along knew that if you lose respect you lose everything, which is why they made sure they never lost the respect of their subjects. Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew has lost it's respect. The people no longer consider the courts as independent institutions dispensing the rule of law, they no longer believe that what they read in Singapore's state controlled press is in fact news, which leaves the people to simply withdraw into to their own cocoons as far away from the government as they can, a government with whom they want nothing to do.

Can there be any doubt then as to why Singapore has the lowest reproduction rate in the world, the highest emigration rate in the world and it's population is almost entirely made up of recent immigrants because every single native Singaporean has either died or emigrated.

Just as it was under Franco's Spain, Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew for 52 years has lost it's talent, it's writers, it's thinkers and it has lost the very best of it's citizens who either went abroad or simply withdrew their co-operation. For all intents and purposes in Singapore of today, there is only one political party, Lee's PAP, there is only one newspaper, the state controlled Singapore Press Holdings and there is only one trade union, the state controlled NTUC. Nothing else exists and nothing else will be allowed to exist.

In Singapore there is only one voice, that of the Lee Kuan Yew family, no other voice will be tolerated.

Momentarily such a hopeless situation may go on for a while, but I don't think it has what it takes to last or compete with the rest of the world. Politically speaking, Singapore is a basket case. It simply does not have solid foundations.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Singapore's state controlled newspaper "Today" of Oct 31, 2011 had this story "Flash floods due to rain"! It was about the almost daily flooding that happens in the island these days after every downpour.

But the title insults our intelligence, by stating the obvious. Flash floods due to rain? Of course they are! What did you expect? Flash floods due to fire! It has to be due to rain, what else!

I have been observing the progressive decline of the standards of Singapore journalism. One shouldn't be surprised. It is well known that Singapore has a ranking as low as 147 by Reporters Without Borders for it's lack of independence. In fact it is about as low as Somalia or North Korea. Not surprisingly anyone with any self respect and some ability in journalism shuns working for Singapore newspapers if they ever wanted to work for any other paper anywhere else for the unfavorable stigma it attaches. Singapore newspapers are seen as pariahs in the trade and anyone who works for it as a thoroughly unscrupulous charlatan who would do anything for money.

Which explains why you get nonsense such as this. It was probably written by some Mainland China recently arrived immigrant who are brought in by the planeloads and given some schooling in English and let loose at their newspapers, to replace all the other journalists who had earlier emigrated to Australia.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Singapore state controlled newspaper the Straits Times of Nov 07, 2011 has the story "Decease "has not affected my mind will or resolve": Lee Kuan Yew". The story says, while planting a tree at his Tangong Pagar Constituency, he said "I have no doubt at all that this (his neurological disorder which causes him to walk crooked) has not affected my mind, my will or resolve".

What is worrying about his statement is his "resolve" which begs thequestion,"resolve" for what? If history is anything to go by, we know he had a great deal of resolve, which has resulted in great pain and agony to countless of his citizens. He was revolved to destroy the opposition and put every single member of it in prison for long periods, as Chia Thai Poh, a living victim of it, here to tell the tale. His great resolve ensured the total subjugation of the press. His resolve put every single peaceful protester behind bars and that same resolve completely neutralized the country's constitution. To Singaporeans on the whole, if indeed he has this resolve, it is not something to rejoice but a big reason to continue their lives cowering in fear as they live today in Singapore; in fear of Lee Kuan Yew's resolve.

But on the other hand I am not sure whether he knows what he is actually talking about, being 88 years old and a thoroughly crooked man who walks crooked as well. He is not a doctor and is in no position to diagnose himself. In any case Hitler all along thought he was completely normal but in truth we all know he was as mad as the Hatter.

I don't think anyone should pay any attention to him. My hope of course is that one day he should be tried for the crimes he committed just as President Pinochet but he probably will escape the law by dying anytime soon, just as Pinochet did.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

A poor Singaporean pauper was tired of waiting in line everywhere for help. He was tired and starving. He had to wait hours in line at his Member of Parliament office to ask for bread. He had to wait hours in line at a homeless shelter for a place to sleep. He was tired of waiting in line and decided to kill himself afterall at Singapore's Bedok Reservoir, the favorite suicide haunt.

When he got there, someone asked him what he was doing when he walked straight to the reservoir to which he answered he had just about had it and was going to die, to which the man asked him whether he knew what they all were doing there? He was told that there is a long line of people waiting to kill themselves, and that if he wanted to kill himself, he should stand in line and wait his turn like everyone else.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

I suppose Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore is used to abusing the rights of his critics who thereafter willingly fade away and leave him alone. Had I remained in Singapore, this would probably have been my fate too as it is almost humanly impossible to render any further resistance once he embarks on his evil vendetta against you of repeatedly harassing you, imprisoning you, and depriving you of a livelihood. History has shown that this has been the fate of almost every single person who had dared to stand up to his dictatorship.

But the equation is very different if you manage to get out of Singapore. Since the whole purpose is to expose this repressive regime to the world and change both international and domestic opinion against this regime, this purpose is entirely doable from outside Singapore.

The Internet still reaches the Singapore domestic population and the world at large and writing this blog enables me to put forward the other side of the coin from that of Singapore's propaganda in their state controlled newspapers.

It is impossible to judge exactly how many people have been swayed and persuaded against this tyranny but the general trend in the decline of support in the regime is indicative. The population continues to decline with almost non existent childbirth rate, and anyone there is most likely a foreigner from somewhere else. The brain drain of the skilled and educated continues to mount and Singapore appears to have ran out ideas on economic policy which has stagnated over some time.

Lee Kuan Yew has to be told that there are some people who simply don't roll over as and when he pleases. They may get out but continue a thorn on his side.

I urge other Singaporeans who have similarly got of that dictatorship join the drumbeat around the world in condemning this regime. True, there may be some disadvantages from doing this such as being barred from entering Singapore such as in my case, but surely these small inconveniences is a small price to pay in the pursuit of the goal of toppling this regime. Every single person's effort goes a long way to hurt this regime.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Singapore's state controlled newspaper the Straits Times of Nov 6, 2011 reports "Another body found in Bedok Reservoir on Saturday morning". The report says "Police said they received a call at 9.15 am informing them a body, believed to a be a Chinese male, in the waters in the reservoir".

The frightening thing about this particular reservoir is that just within the last 3 months, 10 floating dead bodies have been found, half of them murdered and the other half suicides.

It has attracted so much notoriety by these daily floating dead bodies that Singaporeans, a generally superstitious people, consider it haunted and many have reported seeing apparitions and have heard screams at night. It is no longer a place that people go to for recreation and even on weekends the place has become totally deserted.

In fact real estate agents have reported a surge in sales of people trying to get rid of their apartments nearby and moving out and the general drop in HDB housing prices near Bedok Reservoir, as people fear living near the haunted lake.

Knowing to what extent Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore has descended in the last decade or so, with about third of Singaporeans living in poverty in their one room rented apartments (no one owns their property in Singapore as it is all rented to the public by the Singapore Government Agency HDB), it is not surprising to see both violent crime and suicides sky rocketing in the sardine packed overcrowded tiny island of Singapore.

In fact today, despite Singapore Lee Kuan Yew's protestations that it is the safest city in the world, in fact, if anyone dared walking along Singapore streets at night, they will see that neighbouring Jakarta Indonesia or Kuala Lumpur Malaysia are far safer places.

Other than murders the most common crimes include knife point robbery of residents travelling alone in an HDB elevator. If you do, there is a very good chance you will be held up with a knife and relieved of your wallet or handbag in addition to being stabbed repeatedly or even murdered. The situation has become so bad in Singapore that many women refuse to travel alone in an elevator and instead travelling only with male friends or relatives. As most people live in very high rise pigeon hole like apartments, this need to be accompanied causes a severe strain on women throughout the island.

Another very common crime that occurs both day and night are men either on motorcycles or on foot who dash past you and grab your handbag. This crime happens in every street in Singapore and if you bothered to stake out any street for sufficient time, you would at least see one or two of these.

A crime that is alarming in it's blatancy which one could not have even imagined before is robbery at knife point of pedestrians in the public within view of others. There are several instances of cases where men and even women come up to someone in open view, stick them up and make off with their handbag.

This rampant increase of crime throughout the island is alarming especially since punishments are very harsh in the island. Every single robbery and violent crime not only results in a prison sentence, it also mandates the criminal to be severely beaten (caning). In any other place such tortuous punishment would have deterred criminals from this. But it appears not so in Singapore.

This ten fold increase in murders, floating dead bodies in lakes, robberies in elevators and in broad daylight is caused by several reasons. The indiscriminate entry of Chinese thugs from Mainland China, India and other neighbouring impoverished countries for sweat shop work is one such reason. The second is the dire financial straits that Singaporeans have been brought down to due entirely to Lee's failed economic and social policies.

With the Singaporean component of the population continuing to decrease even further and very soon disappearing altogether and with the population comprised by a majority population of Mainland Chinese and other foreigners containing a large proportion of thugs, things are getting much worse.

I understand the Lee Kuan Yew government has sent out instructions to their state controlled newspapers not to report any more floating bodies found on Bedok Reservoir or any other lake in Singapore but in a small sardine packed island like that, you cannot keep out the bad news. It is simply impossible

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Tell me, in which country in the world today, where even a single peaceful silent protester is liable to arrest and imprisonment; where in the world is the entire media state controlled dishing out daily truckloads of propaganda; where in the world does the slightest criticism of the government result in libel suits, bankruptcy and imprisonment not necessarily in that order; where in the world can you walk around where human beings have no opinion about anything at anytime of the day or night, like zombies?

That country is Singapore appropriately termed Uniquely Singapore in a moment of candour, where it's people willingly accept this indignity imposed upon them by their government and in spite of this to whom they willingly dish out their hard earned money in taxes only to be repressed even further by their all powerful government.

And what is even more astonishing is the fact that the country has open borders which allows them to leave this self imposed imprisonment anytime but yet many, except those who emigrate, willingly stay to accept this dogs life.

To an outside observer this sort of behaviour would seem very strange, something like having an entire country of masochists; a people who enjoy being hurt by others like ecstasy in being whipped or raped or other strange behaviour.

Knowing Singapore intimately, let me tell you why.

First you have ignorance. Almost the entire local population of Singapore are not aware of their rights. Except for science and mathematics and other school subjects, they know nothing much else. They do not know that all over the world, human beings protest government policies and criticize them when they have to. Although normal behaviour anywhere else, to a Singaporean brought up in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore such an action is almost criminal. In Lee's Confucian thinking prevalent there, one does not show disobedience publicly like they do in the West. One kowtows. That in the skewed reasoning of Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore is being smart.

Second the government has very cleverly kept the subject of citizens rights under wraps, making sure in no school curriculum are such things as civil rights ever mentioned. Only yesterday I was speaking to an Singapore Indian engineer with a University degree from Australia who had emigrated to the US. He did not appear to know anything about human rights or it's importance, but came to the US because of better career advancement and equal opportunity as an Indian.

Third Singaporeans, for some reason or other, are not a people passionate or idealistic about anything much. All they generally need is a career and the possibility of making lots of money if at all possible. You will not find a Gandhi or a Mandela or a Martin Luther King Jr in Lee Kuan Yew's island. To them each one of these people were fools because if they had anything in their heads, they would have spent their time making money instead.

Fourth, by and large Singaporeans are a cowardly people. They are averse to the slightest risk which anyone else would be prepared to take. For instance many write to me to this blog asking endless questions on how they could emigrate to the USA. Instead of buying that ticket and coming out here to check for themselves, they would rather spend endless hours Emailing and asking questions on what the risks are in coming out here and what if they don't succeed. It is tiresome to answer these questions.

Fifth, apart from risk taking or the lack of it, they are so terrified of their government which is the reason why they never dare to break these laws, even though they are so clearly unjust. True, if you are arrested there are several adverse consequences from this vindictive government but even so, in any society, there would have been at lest a few who would say the hell with it and do it anyway. This is not the case in Lee's Singapore. Not even a single Singaporean except for a handful of brave men and women like Dr. Chee Soon Juan, can ever pick up that courage.

Sixth, you have general apathy about anything that concerns them except the pursuit of making money, which by the way, they don't have anyway. They are not interested in the fact that they have no free press, they are not interested in not having the right to protest since they have nothing to protest about anyway, they are not interested in police brutality since they have nothing to do with the police and they are not interested to know that Lee Kuan Yew takes home $3.7 million a year in salary which is theft, since this theft does not directly concern them.

To sum it all, Singapore is a boring place peopled by an ignorant cowardly lot, apathetic about anything else except money which they think they have but actually they do not.

Which suits Lee Kuan Yew and his friends at the top very nicely indeed because tomorrow he can even pass a law in his island requiring everyone to henceforth crawl on their bellies which these humourless automatons or rather Singaporeans would willingly and eagerly comply.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Singapore, a predominantly ethnic Chinese populated city, so populated through the design of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew has today a mere 12% or so Malay population and 10% or so Indian (predominantly Tamil) population. It was not meant to be so, had natural forces been at work, as Malays have much more children than anyone else, while the Indians were a far greater number in the past, but were overtaken by the hordes of Chinese immigrants intentionally brought in to make sure they are in the far greater majority than anyone else.

And with this flood of Chinese immigration from China, you have state sanctioned racial discrimination. You can hear the stories of this sort of thing happening everyday from the Indians and Malays. Not a day goes by when you do not hear that one Indian was fired from his job only to be replaced by a Chinese. You hear of jobs being denied Malays or Indians, reserved for Chinese, promotion denied for Malays and Chinese and advertisements clearly stating that only Chinese need apply.

Yet in spite of such blatant state sponsored racial discrimination, the government continues to claim no such thing and labels anyone who fights for the rights of people of their own race as racists and anti-social, with the threat of arrest under the Internal Security Act and detention without trial.

We have to tell the Lee Kuan Yew government of Singapore that they cannot have it both ways. You simply cannot discriminate against Indians or Malays and when they resist, label them racist and jail them. This is simply not on.

In the face of the daily curse of disgraceful racial discrimination against Malays and Indians, I say the time is now. Stand up. Malays should form Malay rights parties and demand rights for the Malays, which they are entitled to. Indians should form Indian parties and cry out for an end to this disgraceful racial discrimination being perpetrated against their citizens.

You can no longer afford to be afraid. State openly that Malays demand for Malay rights and Indians demand Indian rights for equality and justice under the Constitution.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Sometimes, I wonder what Singapore could have been without a Lee Kuan Yew and his arrogance and a one party dictatorial island. Something like this.

An island where judges are independent of the government with courage to administer the law without fear and where the people have confidence they will get justice from their courts.

An island which cherishes and nurtures it's own citizens, educating them to the fullest, teaching them citizenship and their rights realising that a well informed citizenry with rights is fundamental for national security and development. Singaporeans would then have studied both locally and abroad and would have had an intense passion and yearning to work for the advancement and progress of their country where they have rights and where they are not merely "digits".

An island where the government realises that the people are entitled to uncensored information because without true information, you cannot really progress to any extent.

An island which realizes that it grows according to it's ability. Industry should be in the hands of Singaporeans and not foreigners. Singaporeans should be the ones who run industry, science and business.

An island which realises that it has to work within the capacity of it's population and transform and grow according to what Singaporeans can manage, and not by means of bringing in ships loads of foreigners to start businesses which no Singaporean understands or has any desire to.

An island which has some space to live with a population of 3 million native Singaporeans instead of today's impossible sardine packed overcrowding of over 5.5 million people made up almost entirely of foreigners in a tiny dot, one on top of the other.

An island where every citizen is cherished and nurtured for the skills and abilities that he or she may have, and not just putting up a few selected bookworms on a pedestal and everyone else treated as an outcast.

Lee Kuan Yew has managed to destroy today's Singapore. Instead of a Singapore for Singaporeans, the entire island has been made to turn upside down. Off shore banking, a euphemism for money laundering had become a mainstay business, with local Singaporeans having little to do with it, either in jobs or know how.

And then you have the casinos which the government thinks is one way to attract even more thugs and prostitutes for the money.

And then foreigners are admitted in indiscriminate numbers to do any sort of business they want, most of which Singaporeans have no idea about. To work these businesses they bring in millions of unskilled people from neighbouring countries to work for pittance to enrich their foreign owners. There is no free press, no independent judiciary and today foreigners have overtaken Singaporeans in numbers in Singapore. Singaporeans no longer have any faith in the legal system which they consider corrupt and if given the chance, they would rather emigrate to the West.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Singapore's state controlled newspaper "Today" of Nov 1, 2011 has the story "New Law Dean at NUS". It says "A successor has been found for the longest serving dean at the National University of Singapore law school". "The NUS announced yesterday that with effect from January Professor Tan Cheng Han (present dean) will be succeeded by Professor Simon Chesterman, 39".

There are 2 interesting things in Chesterman's appointment which if one knows anything about Singapore, wouldn't be interesting at all. Firstly he is only 39, which by any standards is pretty young for any lawyer, let alone, the Dean of a Law Faculty. As for me, at 39 I was just beginning to understand the law, as most other mortals would be.

But his relatively young age in such high elevation would not be surprising anymore if one knew who he was. Yes you guessed it. He has high connections at high places. He is married to none other than Patricia Tan the daughter of the President of Singapore, an ethnic Chinese Tony Tan.

It appears he met this Chinese woman while studying at university and thought it best to marry her, very probably attracted by the goodies that will most certainly fall from heaven or rather the Singaporean Heaven under Lee Kuan Yew if he marries the daughter of Lee's hand picked President.

All Singapore institutions of education without an exception, you would have noticed, have the dubious worldwide distinction of seemingly appearing to have no opinion at all about anything. As we speak today, all the capitals of the world are abuzz with Protest Wall Street demonstrations, yet in Singapore as well as it is in Lee's university campuses throughout the island there is the silence of the cemetery. Every single student in Singapore is so afraid to speak up, they are as good as dead, thanks to the absolutely successful fear mongering that Lee has succeeded in advancing throughout the island.

And I hate to imagine the sort of lawyers that Lee Kuan Yew's National University of Singapore has produced so far and will continue to produce under this political puppet Simon Chesterman.

All in all Chesterman comes forward as a rather weak opportunist who doesn't appear to think too much of himself. For anyone with more confidence in his abilities, any relationship with a University in Singapore , just as a University in North Korea is more a minus than a plus on a resume.

In fact this sort of nepotism is openly seen across the breath of the Lee Kuan Yew government. The repeated attempts to say that Singapore is a meritocracy is as like repeatedly saying that North Korea is a beacon of democracy, which by the way, I believe they do. Look at the list here, which is only what I know, which list is very much longer if one took the trouble to look at it.

Wong Kan Seng, the Home Minister is Lee's Cousin. Tan Pei Ling, the little girl who makes a fool of herself and yet became an MP, is the wife of the Secretary of the Prime Minister. Ho Ching, the woman who runs Temasek the State Wealth Fund is the Prime Minister's wife. Lee's other son runs a government listed company. Tony Tan, Lee's hand picked President's son has avoided military service. And the list goes on if the reader cares to add.

Let's not pull punches and say it as it is. Singapore is nothing more than the Lee family's private possession which he runs with compliant and trustworthy relatives and friends. And that's it. After all blood is thicker than water.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

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About Me

Determined to find the Truth.
Born Singapore, educated Winstedt School 2 (next to Monks Hill in Newton, Singapore) Raffles Institution, National Service, some travel in Europe, then law studies England, return to Singapore, practiced for 10 years, active Workers Party member, stood elections 1988 and 1991 in Singapore, was harassed and persecuted by Lee Kuan Yew for my political beliefs, left for USA, obtained asylum and admitted California State Bar, practice law ever since in Fremont California near San Francisco. Relinquished Singapore citizenship 2005 because I was not prepared to permit Lee Kuan Yew to unjustly retain my CPF funds if I remained Singapore Citizen. On principle, the only correct thing for me to do was to give it up, for my CPF funds. I am an American Citizen as of 2004.